The Interview
by sotnas1999
Summary: The FBI is interviewing Kate and the team relives it with her.
1. Chapter 1

Summary: The FBI is interviewing Kate and the team relives it with her.

Disclaimer: Main characters are not mine. I'm just borrowing them.

Message: My second fanfic. Comments welcomed but be nice. I just started reading NCIS fanfic a few weeks ago. Any infringement on lines or story is not intended.

**Thursday – Mid-Afternoon – Local FBI Building**

Special Agent Timothy McGee stood in the Observation Room located in the local FBI building fuming at the treatment that he, Gibbs, Tony and Kate were being treated to.

It was a rare experience for McGee to be this upset. McGee shuttered just thinking of Gibbs' anger. And when Tony gets this upset, he tends to be unpredictable.

It was nearly two hours ago when Kate was taken into the Debriefing Room to be 'interviewed'. They were lucky enough to be in the Observation Room as it was – actually luck had nothing to do with it. Gibbs had threatened to shoot anyone who tried to stop him being there. McGee was still slightly shaken from having faced off, with guns drawn, eight FBI agents against the three NCIS agents.

Aside from two FBI agents that stood blocking the door, there were a couple of technicians in the back of the room that monitored the recording of the interview. McGee and Tony stood off to side while their boss, Gibbs, stood - arms folded, shoulder to shoulder - with FBI Agent Tobias Fornell. The interviewer asked Kate once again to repeat the incidents that occurred over the past three days.

"I've already explained to you what happened. Must I repeat myself again?" asked an agitated Kate to the interviewer. As Kate ran a hand through her hair, she winced as she accidentally touched the cut above her right eyebrow. That cut was among a few other injuries, including a cut on her left check, bruised left wrist and some other small cuts and bruises on various parts of her body.

"Special Agent Todd, I understand that you have been through a difficult time recently but I have to insist you give me more specific details." The interviewer - a short, skinny balding man, wearing the standard FBI uniform of dark grey suite and a non-descriptive tie, tapped his fingers against the table, displaying his impatience.

Fornell had leaned over to press a button to relay a message into the interviewer's earpiece, upset with the man's arrogant behavior towards Agent Todd as she is being interviewed as a 'victim' and not interrogated as a 'suspect'. Before he could voice out his reprimand, Gibbs growled warningly, "Fornell, if he uses that tone of voice at Agent Todd again, I will rip his throat out."

McGee flinched at Gibbs' threatening tone and noticed Tony's pleased smirk aimed at the two FBI agents standing near the door - stationed there to either protect Agent Fornell from Gibbs' wrath or to stop the NCIS agents from causing another scene.

Straightening in his chair, the interviewer's tapping fingers ceased as he heard Gibbs' threat on his hidden earpiece. "Please, Agent Todd," the interviewer added on politely.

Having noticed the interviewer's change of tone, Kate looked briefly at the one way mirror, then back interviewer, and gave him an amused smirk of her own.

Kate paused a moment, then repeated the details that occurred over the past three days. As she does, her NCIS co-workers in the Observation Room recalled the details along with her.

TBC


	2. Chapter 2

**CHAPTER 2:**

_**FLASHBACK **_

**Tuesday morning 8:05 am – Bull Pen:**

Seated as his desk McGee glanced up as Kate entered the bullpen on a rush. At her desk, she dropped her bag onto the ground, sat down and moaned as she laid her head down.

Tony looked up from reading his e-mails, leaned back on his chair, placed his hands behind his head and asked, "Rough night Kate? Don't tell me you actually had a date last night that kept you entertained enough to tire you out."

McGee, at his desk, perked up. "Kate had a date? Wow, it's been a while since you've had one of those."

Kate lifted her head, irritated that once again they would start the verbal sparring so early in the morning. "First of all, my love life-"

"-or lack thereof" inserted Tony.

"is none of your business." Kate finished off with deadly looks aimed at Tony and McGee. "Secondly, it wasn't a date that kept me up. I kept having these prank calls through the night!"

"Really? Was it a heavy breather making grunting noises? It could have been Tony."

Sitting up, Tony protested. "I do not make grunting noises, Probie!"

"Ah, but you're a heavy breather DiNozzo?" asked McGee, pleased that he was able to get one on Tony.

"What happened to you Kate? You look like crap." Gibbs remarked to Kate on his way to desk.

McGee turned around quickly and pretended to read a file, while Tony sat up again preparing to enjoy the show.

Annoyed already, Kate's eyes narrowed at Gibbs and said sarcastically, "Thanks Gibbs. A girl always loves to be complimented first thing the morning. You need lessons on-," distracted, Kate answered her ringing cell phone without looking at the caller ID. "Kate Todd."

Having let out a silent moan, Kate politely asked the caller, "What do you want Andrew? I've already asked you not to call me on my cell phone."

At this, McGee along with Tony and Gibbs looked over to Kate, watching her intently.

Kate noticed the attention and turned her back to them.

Kate lowered her voice as to not be overheard. "Andrew, I've told you before that this isn't working out and I would rather -"

Interrupted Kate said almost frantically into the phone. "No, don't – not at my apartment. Fine, I'll meet you at the coffee shop at 5:30 today."

Kate paused to listen then replied with, "No, dinner is not possible. I have plans for tonight. I'll only have a few minutes to spare later."

Hanging up, Kate took a calming breath before turning around – only to find Tony and McGee standing directly in front of her desk.

"What?"

Concerned, Tony asked, "What's that about?"

"None of your business, Tony."

Not satisfied with Kate's evasion to Tony's question, McGee asked, "You sure Kate?"

"I hate to interrupt your discussion on personal issues during working hours, but I need Abby's lab results Kate."

"I'll go get them now Gibbs." Kate narrowed her eyes warningly at Tony and McGee before heading to the rear elevator.

Tony looked at McGee and signaled with his head towards Gibbs. McGee confused, mouthed "What?" Tony widened his eyes and again gestured at Gibbs. Finally understanding, McGee rolled his eyes at Tony and tentatively questioned Gibbs. "Ah, Boss? Do you think we should be concerned about that call?"

Gibbs glanced at Kate's retreating back, eyebrows drawn together and said, "Fine, call Abby. See if she can get some info from Kate." He lowered his voice and added "And do a background check on this guy."

Gibbs stood up and called out to Tony, "DiNozzo, you're with me. Director wants to see us."

**A few minutes later - Lab:**

"Hi Abs! Gibbs wants me to find out if you're done with the results on the ballistic tests on the Petty Officer Patroni case."

"Not yet, it should be in a couple of hours." Staring pointedly at Kate, Abby asked, "So what's with the obsessed former lover?"

"How did you know about – never mind. Who called you? Tony or McGee?"

"McGee. So what's the deal?"

"Remember a few weeks ago on the Marine Sergeant embezzling/murder case? There was an FBI agent assigned to the case, Andrew Sommers. We had to work with them since the FBI were already investigating the Marine black-mailing some federal agent when he was killed."

"Wasn't he the tall one with the big-."

"Abby!"

"-smile? I was going to say 'smile'." Abby replied to Kate with an innocent wide-eye look.

Giving Abby a doubtful look, Kate continued, "Anyways, this was when Gibbs and Tony were in New York. McGee and I handled the case and it was closed within a couple of days. Andrew asked me out for coffee and then we had a couple of dates. I wasn't very comfortable after the second date and told him I would rather be friends."

"Oh, the dreaded 'F' word."

"Yeah, well he seemed okay about it but then a couple of times a week he'd call and I just keep turning him down." Kate shrugged. "I thought it was all harmless and I'd hardly call him 'obsessed'."

"I can go with you after work when you meet him," offered Abby. "Then we can just go on to dinner and the movie as planned."

"I'll be okay. It will be right after work so I'll still be on time meeting up with you. I'll come back in a couple of hours for the results Abs."

**INTERVIEW – FBI BUILDING:**

The interviewer lifted his hand for Kate to pause. "Just a moment, Agent Todd. What about these calls to your apartment the night before? Didn't you think to report those in? You are an agent and therefore subject to threatening calls."

Kate blinked couple of time to focus on the interviewer's questions. She pressed a couple of fingers between her eyes to help ease the pressure of a headache coming on and said, "They weren't 'threatening calls' as the caller didn't say anything the first couple of times I did answer the phone."

"You said that the calls kept you up all night. Why didn't you just shut off your ringer?"

As though stating the obvious, Kate slowly replied, "Because I didn't want to miss any urgent calls if anyone tried to call me at home. Not everyone has my cell number."

"Did you make the connection that the calls were connected to Agent Sommers?"

"No. The calls at my apartment had 'blocked' on the screen. When Andrew called me on my cell phone that morning, his cell number appeared on my screen."

"So what happened next?"

In the Observation Room, Tony stood leaning against the wall beside McGee and had to force himself to remain composed when all he wanted to do was pound his fist against the one-way mirror and tell that dweeb of an interviewer to stop being so obtuse.

Tony glanced over to the two FBI agents standing in front of the door, who were eyeing the NCIS agents with some trepidation. He thought back to the scene from a couple of hours ago when they first arrived at the FBI building – their main priority was getting to Kate. Tony raised an eyebrow at them as if to say 'FBI. Huh. Just showed who's tougher when you're out-numbered nearly three to one.'

Sure, Tony was still a little pumped from the incident and can admit to himself that the stand-off was surreal - and perhaps a little foolish - but looking back at an injured Kate in the opposite room, he knew that he, along with Gibbs and McGee would do it again. Nothing will stop them when one of their own was hurt – at least not again.

Tony closed his eyes briefly as Kate continued with where she was interrupted by the interviewer.

TBC 


	3. Chapter 3

**CHAPTER 3:**

_**FLASHBACK**_

**5:00PM – Bull Pen:**

"Anything from Abby on Kate?" Tony asked McGee.

"Yeah, according to Abby, Kate dated FBI agent Andrew Sommers a couple of times. Kate wasn't feeling it, the guy wasn't happy about it and has been trying to get Kate to go out with him again."

"Do a back ground check, would you McGee?"

"Already working on it."

Tony gave McGee an impressed look. "Wow, Probie. You're really thinking on your feet."

"Actually Gibbs mentioned it earlier."

"Okay, I'm no longer impressed."

"Hah-hah. Real funny." McGee paused a moment. "Tony, I've met Sommers before. While you and Gibbs were in New York a few weeks ago, Kate and I worked in conjunction with the FBI. Sommers was assigned to the case."

"Impression?"

"Well, he seemed really…enamored by Kate."

"What? You mean Kate didn't try to bust his balls? That's not fair. She does that all the time."

"With you she does it all the time. With others, she's nice."

"Uh-huh." Tony played with his pen for a few moments while staring at Kate's desk. He glanced at McGee with a wicked smile.

McGee knew enough about Tony, that when he has that smile on his face with eyes glittering, it means he's up to something that will eventually get him into trouble.

"Well Probie, Kate may just need some back up. I think I'll swing by and get some coffee on the way home."

"Tony, I don't think that's a good idea. Kate won't be happy having you spy on her,"

"Probie, I am not going to 'spy'. I'm just going to make sure that everything will be okay. Anyways, I'll be stealth, silent, sneaky. She won't even know I'm there." Bragged Tony as he gathered his jacket and company issued backpack.

McGee mumbled to himself, "He'll get caught. And then Kate will kill him."

Tony, having heard McGee, arrogantly replied, "I won't get caught Probie! I'm a professional."

**5:30 - Coffee Shop:**

Kate walked into the coffee shop to find Andrew already seated waiting with two coffee cups.

Pleased that the shop was nearly empty with only a few scattered tables occupied, Kate observed him for a moment, trying to figure what it is about him that made her wary. Andrew was good looking enough. He was same height as Tony but more blondish with a slimmer build – more Anglo instead of the Italian looking. So it couldn't be his looks.

He hasn't actually done anything wrong. It's just that he tried too hard on their dates. He was charming, said all the right things and complimented her enough. And he crowded her. Always touching her – light touches that shouldn't really disturb her but they kind of felt possessive.

Shaking away her wariness, Kate approached the table with an attempt at a friendly but reserved smile. "Hello Andrew. Thanks for meeting me here."

"Caitlin, I'm so glad to finally see you again," giving her a wide smile. Andrew stood up to seat Kate before seating himself again. "I'm pleased that you agreed to meet with me. I've missed you."

Three sentences and already Kate was feeling crowded in.

"Andrew, like I've said before, I just don't think this will work out between us. I would rather we remain friends."

"If that's what you want Caitlin but even friends can get together for dinner. I'd like the opportunity to try to change your mind. What we have between us can work."

Before Kate can reply, over Andrew's left shoulder she noticed a familiar brown leather jacket darting behind a column. Eyes narrowing suspiciously, Kate leaned over to the side to get a better view of the owner of the jacket. Andrew, not liking Kate's distraction, looked over his shoulder and from his angle can see a tall brown haired man wearing dark sunglasses peering at them from behind a column.

With a frown, Andrew asked, "A friend of yours?"

"Huh? Uh, no." Thinking she's imaging things, Kate shook her head to get back on topic. "Andrew, I'm flattered that you want to continue to see me but I would rather just remain acquaintances. I just don't feel that strongly for you."

From her peripheral vision, again Kate noticed 'brown jacket' moving and this time ducking behind a potted plant. Suspicions confirmed Kate turned back to Andrew. "Could you excuse me a moment? I just recognized a dead man." Kate grabbed her purse before standing up and walking purposefully away.

Tony, distracted by a couple of beautiful young ladies smiling at him from a nearby table, hadn't noticed that Kate left her table and was headed straight for him. After bestowing upon the ladies what he considers his best 'DiNozzo smile', he pushed the leaves of the plant aside to look back at Kate and her male friend, only to find Kate standing there in front of him, glaring at him.

"DiNozzo, you are a dead man."

Eyes widening, Tony cringed and mumbled, "McGee just had that same premonition earlier."

"Tony, what are you doing here?" Kate whispered angrily. "Are you crazy?"

Straightening from behind the plants, Tony waved casually at Andrew, trying to appear as though he wasn't just caught spying at them. "Kate, we were just worried about you."

"Worried, Tony, or nosy? And somehow I doubt McGee would even dare think of this idea."

"Okay, so _I_ was worried about you." Having felt slightly uncomfortable expressing his concern, Tony looked back at Andrew and commented, "No wonder you dumped the guy. Typical FBI – cheap suit, tacky tie – a criminal can spot him a mile away."

"Tony, I'm warning you. Leave!" With that said, Kate stalked back to the table and a waiting Andrew.

Tony, dismissed by an irate Kate, turned to the two young ladies eyeing him a few moments before and made his way to them to introduce himself.

"Sorry about the interruption," Kate apologized as she took her seat again, placing her purse on her lap.

Andrew stared at Kate, eyes narrowed and demanded. "Who's that Kate? A new boyfriend?"

Kate, taken aback by the Andrew's harsh tone, replied with, "Just a friend".

Reaching for her coffee cup on the table, Andrew quickly reached out and grabbed Kate's left wrist, slightly twisting it, pulling Kate across the table. Surprised by the unexpected move and pain, Kate released a low moan.

"Don't lie to me Kate. I asked that you meet me here and you bring your boyfriend along?" Face slightly contorted with anger, Andrew leaned closer.

"Andrew, let go."

In reply, Andrew tightened his grip causing Kate more pain. "If this is your way of making me jealous Kate, there's no need. I already want you."

Voice lowered, Kate threatened, "Let go or I'll shoot you."

Looking down, Andrew finally realized that Kate has her gun pointed at his chest.

"And if she won't then I will."

Andrew glanced up and noticed the pissed off look on the man's face.

"Do as the lady tells you and let go, Sommers."

Before releasing Kate's wrist, Andrew gave it another painful squeeze. Standing up slowly, he smiled promisingly at Kate. "We'll discuss this later."

Kate rubbed her left wrist light to ease the pain and warned Andrew, "I doubt it. Don't call or come near again."

Tony watched, making sure that Andrew left the coffee shop and mumbled to Kate, "Well that was entertaining." Taking the chair that Andrew had just vacated, Tony sat down and asked Kate, unable to mask the concern in his voice, "Kate, are you okay?"

Kate didn't answer as she shook her head and tried to figure out what made Andrew so possessive after only a couple of dates.

Tony hesitantly reached over and softly, so softly that Kate could barely feel it, ran a couple of fingers on the bruise that was starting to form on Kate's pale skin.

Locking eyes with Tony for a brief second, Kate replied, "Yeah, I'm fine." Feeling a little flustered with the intensity of Tony's attention, Kate looked away said, "I've got to go. I'm meeting Abby for dinner and a movie."

Tony cleared his throat and withdrew his hand. "So I was right. I bet McGee that you didn't have a date this evening. Since I'll be twenty dollars richer, I think I'll join you and Abs." Tony wagged his eyebrows up and down. "What more can a man want - spending the evening with two very diverse and lovely ladies. It'll make me feel studly."

Ignoring the last comment, Kate asked threatening, "You and McGee are betting on my love life?"

"Or lack thereof. Listen, why don't you go run some cold water on your wrist. I'll call Abby and let her know that I'll be joining you two."

"DiNozzo, I do not need you to-"

"It's either that or I call Gibbs now."

Kate paused a moment and considered Tony's ultimatum. If Tony did call Gibbs, then they would wind up back at the office. Debating a night with Gibbs growling at everyone, grunting at his computer (or anything hi-tech) and skipping dinner in favor of a liquid diet of coffee **_or_** spending a couple of hours at the movie theater watching Antonio Banderas swinging his sword - figuratively and physically, really what choice did she have?

"Fine, I'll be right back." Kate replied.

Tony reached for his cell phone and called Abby. "Hey Abs."

"_Hi Tony. What's up?"_

"I'll be joining you and Kate tonight. She had a problem with lover-boy so I thought to play it safe, that I hang around tonight."

"_Is Kate okay?"_

"Yeah, fine. You still have that digital camera with you? Bring it along, would you?"

"_No problem. I'll see you soon."_

"Oh, by the way, what movie are we watching?"

"_Before I tell you the title of the movie, I just want you to understand that this was not my idea. I picked the last movie so it's Kate's turn to pick."_

Tony narrowed his eyes and asked apprehensively. "What movie Abby?"

"_Tony, this was not my choice."_

"What movie?" Tony demanded.

"_The new Zorro."_

"God! I knew it was too good to be true." Tony shook head. Just great. Instead of swinging his own sword tonight, he'd have to spend it watching another man swing his - figuratively and physically.

**INTERVIEW – FBI BUILDING**

At a knock at the door, one of the FBI agents opened the door to allow Director Thomas Morrow to enter.

McGee and DiNozzo stood erect at seeing it was Morrow. Respectfully, Gibbs and Fornell, said "Sir." Morrow nodded his head in acknowledgement and moved to stand between them, observing the opposite room". Morrow addressed Gibbs. "I can only stay a few minutes but I wanted to see how she's doing."

Gibbs replied, "She's holding up sir."

"She looks exhausted. Give her a few minutes to rest."

Fornell pressed a button and said a few words to the interviewer.

"Agent Todd, would you like to use the facilities?" asked the interviewer.

"No, I'd like to continue on." Kate replied as reached for the glass of water on the table to clear her dry throat. Exhausted - emotionally and physically - she knew she had to continue with the recounting. It was just so damned difficult to keep things in focus. She forced herself to remain still but the interviewer was irritating. He had a tendency to tap his fingers after taking notes.

Kate glanced at the mirror knowing that Gibbs would recall what happened next, not knowing that Morrow was also there and he too would recall the next morning.

**TBC**


	4. Chapter 4

**Message: Thanks for all the reviews and e-mails! Hope you enjoy this next chapter.**

**CHAPTER 4:**

_**FLASHBACK**_

**Wednesday Morning 7:40am – Bull Pen**

As Kate walked towards her desk, she was surprised to see Tony and McGee in. Usually at this time of the morning, Gibbs had already inhaled his third cup of coffee while she, McGee and Tony were scrambling to come in before eight o'clock.

"Morning Tony, McGee."

Head popping up, Tony stood up. "Kate. Ah, I gotta get something from somewhere."

"I'll go help him." McGee mumbled as he bolted after Tony.

Kate shook her head as she wondered what had gotten into them. As soon as she had just settled herself at her desk, Gibbs approached and asked with a lift of his eyebrow, "Is there anything you want to report Agent Todd?"

Kate's eyes narrowed suspiciously. "You already know, don't you?" It came out as more of a statement rather than a question as she glared at Tony and McGee's retreating backs.

"Yeah, we'll be meeting with Morrow at 8:15 this morning."

"Gibbs, is this really necessary? I think that Andrew got the point yesterday."

"Regardless, we'll do this by the book. Harassment, especially between agencies, is serious. For now, head down to Ducky and have him look at your wrist."

"Gibbs-" Kate started to protest when Gibbs just stared stonily at her.

"Going, I'm going."

**8:45am – Director Tom Morrow's Office:**

Standing with his back to Agent Gibbs and Todd, Director Thomas Morrow had his eyes shut against the window view of the company parking lot. Complaints filed between federal agencies are a commonplace norm, but when it comes to a sexual harassment compliant, it gets messy - especially when it's dealing with one of Special Agent Jethro Gibbs' agent.

Morrow could practically feel the anger radiating from Gibbs on his agent's behalf. Surprising though as Agent Todd seems so calm compared to Gibbs' agitation. Better to ignore Gibbs for the moment.

Morrow turned back around and stared intently at Agent Todd. "Agent Todd, this is a serious accusation that's being made against an FBI agent. It's important that we get all the facts straight."

"Yes, sir."

"So, what happened after the coffee shop?"

"DiNozzo, Abby and I had dinner then watched a movie. Afterwards, they insisted that they take me home – this would have been about 10:30. When we got to my apartment, the message light on my answering machine was blinking. There were nine different calls that Sommers made but he only left four messages. Since my answering machine is digital, Abby forwarded the messages to her lab to transfer the voice mails to a disc."

Agent Todd quickly glanced at Gibbs and continued with, "I had turned off my cell phone since DiNozzo was with us. I figured that if Gibbs were to call us in for an emergency, he would contact DiNozzo and would know we were together. Tony suggested I check my voice mails on my cell and there were three more messages that Sommers left. Again, Abby forwarded those messages to her Lab."

"Here's the disc sir." Gibbs handed it to Morrow.

Morrow inserted the disc into his computer and adjusted the volume.

Gibbs explained, "Abby saved the voice messages in corresponding times between the apartment phone and the cell phone. She also included the hang-ups where Sommers didn't leave a message. She programmed it where it will announce the time and which phone was called."

As the first message began to play, Morrow nodded his head that he understood.

7:35 pm Land line: "Caitlin, I'm sorry about earlier, please call me. I hope I didn't hurt you."

7:48 pm Cell phone: "Caitlin, I left a message at your apartment, please call me. What happened earlier could have been avoided."

8:03 pm Land line: click

8:20 pm Cell phone: "Caitlin, I'm sure your upset, but we can work this out. Please call me."

8:31 pm Land line: "Where are you Caitlin? Still out with your boyfriend?"

8:46 pm Land line: click

9:01 pm Land line: hang up

9:12 pm Land line: "It's past nine Caitlin. Why aren't you home already?"

9:24 pm Land line: click

9:39 pm Cell phone: "Damn it! You bitch! You're still with him aren't you!

9:55 pm Land line: "I'm sorry Caitlin. I didn't mean what I said. You're perfect. Please call me."

10:11 pm Land line: click

Silence filled the room – each of them disturbed in their own way by the messages.

Morrow glanced at Agent Gibbs, who had gripped the arms of the chair tightly, eyes flashing furiously.

He turned his attention to Agent Todd, who in contrast was sitting erect, looking almost serene until he noticed her hands were nearly turning white from being tightly clasped together, the bruise on her wrist standing out starkly.

"Agent Todd, you're a profiler. Give us a profile of the calls Sommers made."

Agent Todd hesitated.

"Agent Todd, you are the most qualified of the three of us to understand Sommers – not just because of your personal involvement, which is limited, but also due to your training." Morrow firmly reminded her.

Agent Todd nodded and took a deep calming breath. "In the beginning he's remorseful of the injury caused. Later he passes the blame, implying that the incident was my fault. He's then sure that what he thinks of as our 'relationship' can be resolved. Becoming impatient that I'm either not taking his calls or still not at home, he becomes jealous and more upset thinking that I'm involved with someone else. Finally calming down, he calls back. Once again he's remorseful and apologetic."

"And whiny," added Gibbs. "Director, the bastard isn't going to leave her alone."

Agent Todd's head jerked towards to Gibbs, surprised by the vehemence it Gibbs' voice and reluctantly turned back to face Morrow.

Morrow was also surprised by the underlining violence tinting Gibbs' growled words. Eyes narrowed slightly, he wondered about the relationship between Gibbs and Todd but dismissed it as a supervisor concerned with a subordinate. "Okay. Agent Gibbs, you and Agent Todd are to file a report with the FBI ASAP." With a nod to Agent Todd, "you're dismissed."

Agent Todd thanked the Director for his time and walked out. "Jethro, this is going to cause a lot of problems between NCIS and FBI."

Gibbs stood up and walked towards the door. "We already have problems with them Director." As Gibbs grabbed the door knob, he looked back at the Morrow and growled. "But this is personal. One of their agents is harassing one of mine."

**2:20 pm – Bull Pen**

"Uh-oh" mumbled McGee warningly. Gibbs and Tony looked over to where McGee indicated at to see FBI Agent Tobias Fornell getting off the elevator. Fornell stomped towards Gibbs desk. "I want to speak with you Gibbs."

Gibbs nodded and grabbed a folder. "Elevator."

As they both entered the elevator, Gibbs flipped the switch for the elevator to stop, in the dim lighting he turned to Fornell and raised his eyebrow questioningly.

"FBI's I.A. just contacted me about a harassment report that was filed against one of my agents, Andrew Sommers."

"Wow, Internal Affairs really works fast when it's against one of their own."

"Are you sure, Jethro? From what I understand Agent Todd left the Secret Service because of an affair she was having with another agent."

"That was nearly two years ago, Tobias. What happened back then has nothing to do with now." Gibbs said warningly. "You saw the report?" Gibbs asked Fornell.

When Fornell acknowledged he had, Gibbs replied with "then you saw the pictures of Agent Todd's bruised wrist, you heard the disc with Sommers messages and I have another agent, DiNozzo, that had witnessed the scene at the coffee shop."

"Sommers is one of my best men. He's a good agent."

"Well your best man just got worst. I know Agent Todd. She didn't ask or want this."

Gibbs handed Fornell the folder he was carrying. "Here are a couple of harassment reports that was filed against Sommers over the past five years."

Gibbs flipped the switch and pressed a couple of buttons on the elevator panel. The elevator doors opened to reveal McGee and DiNozzo standing there, waiting. Gibbs stepped out and turned back to face Fornell.

Fornell reached out and placed a hand to hold the elevator doors open. "How did you get this?" Fornell demanded waving the folder.

"It's what I do. I'm an NCIS investigator, I investigate."

"The FBI should try it sometime. It helps solving cases," suggested Tony with a smug look on his face. McGee just gave Fornell a small smirk.

Fornell removed his hand from the elevator door. As the doors closes, McGee and DiNozzo, who were standing slightly behind on either side of Gibbs, raised their hand and gave a little 'bye-bye' wave to Fornell.

**INTERVIEW – FBI BUILDING**

While Kate paused to take another sip of water, Director Tom Morrow turned to Gibbs and said, "Call me again if you need anything."

He glanced over at Special Agents DiNozzo and McGee, then over at FBI Agent Fornell. "I'm going to meet with the FBI Director to discuss the earlier situation downstairs." He shook his head slightly and he mumbled, "I hope you all realize that the relationship between NCIS and the FBI will be strained for a while. It doesn't look good at all when two federal agencies aim their weapons at each other."

As the Director walked out, Gibbs shrugged at DiNozzo and McGee. "Could have been worst."

Fornell added, "At least shots weren't fired."

Kate cleared her throat, ready to continue.

The NCIS agents turned their attention back to the opposite room.

TBC


	5. Chapter 5

**CHAPTER 5:**

_**FLASHBACK**_

**Wednesday 3:50pm – Lab**

"Abs, I just can't believe that you and Tony took this to Gibbs so quickly."

"I'm sorry Kate. We were just worried about you."

"I know but I would have told Gibbs about it myself. He makes it seem like I was going to hide it from him." Kate said exasperatedly to Abby.

"You know, this kind of reminds me of this guy I was seeing in college. When we stopped dating, he became obsessed with me. Leaving me notes taped to my door, calling in the radio stations and dedicating Metallica's 'Master of Puppets', coincidentally running into me at the clubs. Finally I had enough and put a stop to it."

"Really? What did you do?"

"Oh, I asked one of the med students to take a picture of a body they were performing an autopsy on. Then I taped it to his door with a message to call me for dinner and signed it 'Love ya, Abby'. After that he stopped calling." Abby ended her story with an evil smile.

**4:25pm – Bull Pen**

McGee and Kate were the only ones in the Bull Pen when Kate received a call on her desk phone from a livid Andrew Sommers.

Before Kate could reply, Andrew hung up. Sitting at her desk, slightly shaken by the antagonism of Andrew's call, Kate was still holding the phone when McGee came over.

"Kate, you okay?" Concerned, McGee called her name again. "Kate?" He reached over, took the phone from Kate's limp hand and hung up.

Blinking a few times, Kate looked up McGee with apprehension in her eyes.

"I'm calling Gibbs." When Kate didn't immediately reply to protest, he realized just how upset Kate was by that phone call.

Moving away from Kate's desk as to not be overheard, McGee called Gibbs on his cell. He and Tony were out in the field, heading back to office from interviewing a victim's relative.

"_What McGee?" _

McGee winced at the irate tone of Gibbs' voice, knowing that what he was about to tell him would make him even more incensed. "Ah, Boss, I think we have a situation here. Sommers just called Kate again. I don't know what he said but he was screaming on the phone. Kate is kinda in shock right now."

"_That bastard," Gibbs growled. "Did you have Abby tap her phones in case Sommers called again?"_

"Yes, Boss. Abby should have in-coming phone call recordings at her lab."

"_Keep her there, McGee. We'll be there in 10 minutes." _

**11 Minutes later – Bull Pen:**

Tony followed behind Gibbs as they – actually Gibbs – stormed out of the elevator and into the Bull Pen. "Where's Kate?" Gibbs demanded.

"She's in Abby's lab, Boss."

Tony smirked when Gibbs tossed his cell phone to McGee and instructed sharply to "do something with it" before walking to the rear elevator to head to the Lab. McGee caught the cell phone and stared at it confused. "What happened? I just spoke with him 10 minutes ago."

"Yeah, well, a cell phone has no chance against a steering wheel," Tony glibly replied on the way to his own desk.

With it being close to closing time, McGee had to scramble to replace Gibbs damaged phone with a new one.

Still taken aback by what happened in the car, Tony recalled how the cell phone got damaged in the first place.

McGee had called Gibbs to let him know about Kate's recent call from Sommers. Gibbs had hung up and slammed the cell phone several times against the steering wheel.

Once Tony heard Gibbs announce that they will 'be there in 10 minutes', he knew that his life was about to end. As it was, with the way Gibbs drove, they were already 15 minutes away from the office, which would have taken a normal driver at least 25 minutes. So at those said words, Tony, wide-eyed, braced himself – one hand clutched on the seat belt and the other braced against the passenger window.

**A few minutes later – Lab:**

'_Caitlin, you bitch! You reported me! How could you? I apologized didn't I for grabbing at you? But you just want the attention. This is your fault!'_

Kate stood staring at the plasma screen. The recording was amplified over the speakers and despite the fact that there were no visual display, she stared at the voice analyzer lines going up and down.

'_Caitlin, you bitch! You reported me! How could you? I apologized didn't I for grabbing at you? But you just want the attention. This is your fault!'_

Kate pressed the replay button on the remote again.

'_Caitlin, you bitch! You reported me! How could you? I apologized didn't I for grabbing at you? But you just want the attention. This is your fault!'_

Again she pressed it.

Abby was hovering near the door, chewing at her lips, unsure of what to do. As Gibbs walked into the lab, she grabbed Gibbs' arm. "Gibbs, she's been like that for the past 15 minutes - just playing the recording over and over again."

Gibbs patted Abby's hand and said, "I'll take of it." Leaving Abby by the door, Gibbs approached Kate from the side. "Kate."

'_Caitlin, you bitch!' _

"Kate."_  
_

'_You reported me! How could you? I apologized didn't I for grabbing at you?'_

Gibbs called sharply, "Agent Todd."

'_But you just want the attention.'_

Kate pressed the pause button. Still staring at the plasma screen, she addressed Gibbs. "He said that I wanted the attention."

'_This is your fault!'_

Kate turned her head to look at Gibbs. "He said it was my fault."

Gibbs cringed at the bleakness of Kate's face and voice.

**INTERVIEW – FBI BUILDING**

"He said I wanted the attention. That it was my fault."

"And did you want the attention?"

Kate looked questioningly at the interviewer, not quite understanding what he was asking.

The interviewer raised an eyebrow, "_Was_ it your fault?"

In the Observation Room, there were immediate reactions from the NCIS agents of "What!" "Boss!" "Fornell!"

"Damn it!" Fornell pressed the button for the interviewer's earpiece to call a halt to those lines of questioning.

Gibbs pounded on his fists on his side of the one-way mirror and growled promisingly, "I am going to rip your throat out when I get my hands on you!"

The two FBI agents standing by the door had taken a few steps forward to restrain Gibbs. However, Tony and McGee, angry on Kate's behalf and the threat towards their boss, had moved to block the FBI agents from reaching Gibbs.

Fornell yelled "Enough!" at the Interviewer and to everyone in the Observation Room.

Meanwhile in the Debriefing Room, the interviewer had jerked his head to the rattling one-way mirror, startled by the vehemence of the threat coming through his ear-piece and the pounding coming from the other side.

Despite the severity of the situation, Kate raised her own eyebrow at the interviewer and gave him an amused smile. "Whatever Special Agent Gibbs said to you - believe it. He usually does what he threatens."

"I…I apologize Agent Todd," the interviewer hastily said. "I didn't mean to imply anything."

"It's okay." Kate said.

The interviewer wasn't sure if Agent Todd was addressing his apology or reassuring the other NCIS agents in the Observation Room.

She turned to the one-way mirror and said loudly, "Guys, its okay. I'm okay."

**Observation Room – FBI Building**

Dr. "Ducky" Mallard stood at the doorway of the Observation Room and took in the scene before him.

Jethro had FBI Agent Fornell's lapels gripped with both hands, while Fornell had his own hands on Jethro's wrists attempting to get his coat released.

Anthony's face was two inches away from the other FBI agent's face, encouraging him, more like goading him, to "Go ahead. Try it."

Timothy, surprisingly, hand one hand on a FBI agent's chest, holding him back.

Having heard Caitlin's voice of reassurance, he glanced at the opposite room and noticed that she was staring directly into the mirror.

Ducky naturally, and correctly, assumed that the scuffling had stemmed from words said either about or to Caitlin.

"Uh, excuse me, gentlemen."

When that didn't draw anyone's attention, Ducky called out louder, his British accent more pronounced, "Agents! May I have your attention, please!"

Heads turned to the doorway to find Ducky standing there with one handon the door knob and the other holding his medical bag.

"I hope I'm not interrupting Agent Gibbs, Agent Fornell." He said to them with a slight tone of reprimand tinting his voice. "If you had been paying attention, Caitlin just said she's 'okay'."

Jethro, after giving Fornell one last shake, released Fornell's coat. Anthony narrowed his eyes warningly at the FBI agent before stepping back to stand next to Gibbs. Timothy, unable to resist a slight push at his FBI agent, also moved to stand on Gibbs other side. All three eyed Kate critically, making sure she was indeed 'okay'.

Fornell straightened his suit and asked suspiciously, "Dr. Mallard, what are you doing here?"

"Special Agent Gibbs called me, Agent Fornell. I am to examine Agent Todd."

Fornell glared at Jethro and advised him, "Agent Todd had already been seen by the medics at the scene."

"Yeah, well that was a few hours ago Fornell. Let Dr. Mallard in." He instructed demandingly.

Fornell shook his head and then signaled to one of the FBI agents, who had returned to their post in front of the door, to escort Ducky next door.

The FBI agent led Ducky to the Debriefing Room, opened the door and said to the interviewer, "Agent, there's a doctor here to examine Agent Todd. Would you step out for a few moments, please."

The interviewer, looking somewhat relieved to be taking a break, addressed Kate. "Agent Todd, I'll be back in a few minutes."

Ducky entered the room and shut the door. "Hello Caitlin."

"Hi Ducky." Tears filled her eyes as Ducky reached out and patted her shoulder lightly.

"Come, my dear. Let me examine you."

Ducky positioned Kate so her back was to the one-way mirror, allowing some type of privacy. He then pulled the now vacated chair over and sat facing her.

While Ducky examined the cuts on Kate's face, he gently asked, "How are you holding up? I heard you had quite an experience this morning."

Kate winced at the prodding to her face and with voice lowered said, "It was…difficult." She leaned in towards Ducky and whispered, "I've never been so scared, Ducky. I thought he was going to kill me. Then Tony showed up and I thought 'This is it. We're going to die'."

"Lift up your blouse, Caitlin." Ducky winced at the sight of the bruises that had already formed on her ribs and lower back. After having applied fresh antiseptic on the various cuts on Kate's face and body, he patted her hand gently. "You're almost done here, my dear. I'll instruct Jethro to bring you to my office when you're finished. I want to x-ray your ribs as a pre-caution."

"Thank you Ducky. I'm glad you came by."

Ducky stood up, gathered his medical bag and hesitated before opening the door. He looked over his shoulder and said softly, "Caitlin, physically you'll be fine. As for your mental state, I suggest you don't let this get to you in the way of Haswari."

When Kate didn't say anything, Ducky murmured, "I'll see you later, my dear."

The interviewer entered the Debriefing Room as Ducky exited. He returned his chair back to its original position, cleared his throat and asked, "Shall we continue?"

TBC

**Message: Hello readers! For the next chapter, I'll be changing the rating to "T". All reviews and e-mails are welcomed. I hope you've enjoyed the story so far. **


	6. Chapter 6

FLASHBACK

**Thursday Morning 8:10 am – Kate's Apartment**

There was a knock at the door while Kate was getting ready to leave for work. Exasperated because she was already late for work and thinking it was Tony again, she swung the door open. "What did you forget this time Tony?"

Surprised and dismayed that it was Andrew standing there, Kate stood there for a couple of seconds before instincts screamed at her to shut the door. Andrew shoved it open and pushed Kate against the wall. Kate's head slammed at the wall, which caused her to get dizzy for a moment, almost blacking out. With his forearm against her throat, Andrew leaned in and whispered warningly to Kate, "Don't scream." He reached over and closed the door, bolting it.

Having a difficult time breathing, Kate grabbed at Andrew's arm to relieve the pressure against her throat.

"Thought it was your boyfriend again? I made sure he left the building before I came up. I watched when he brought you home last night."

"Andrew, it's not what you think. He's my co-worker. He dropped me off last night." Kate said hoarsely.

"Don't lie! It was the same man from the coffee shop. I saw him leave this morning. He was here all night."

"No! He didn't spend the night. He came back this morning because he forgot something."

"Don't lie to me! Do you know what you've done Caitlin? The report you filed against me has damaged my reputation with my colleagues. They are now doubting me. Me! I'm one of the best agents the FBI has, and you've marred my name! I.A. had been questioning me all afternoon because of you!"

Still stunned from her head slamming against the wall and the lack of oxygen, Kate chocked out, "Andrew stop. Let go!"

"We are going to solve all our problems now Caitlin. I want you to call your office. Tell them that you're feeling sick and that you're not going into work today. You tell your boss that you've decided to drop the complaint against me."

"They'll be suspicious if I don't show up."

"Call them. Use your cell phone so they'll think you're out. Tell them you're going to see a doctor. Don't say anything more Caitlin. Don't give them any hints that something's wrong."

Andrew grabbed Kate's cell phone from the entryway table and shoved it at Kate. When Kate didn't immediately dial, Andrew grabbed a fist full of Kate's hair and jerked her head back. "Do it now Caitlin."

"I can't breath."

Andrew eased back slightly.

Kate's hands shook as she dialed NCIS. After a few rings, a voice on the other end answered. _"Gibbs."_

"Jethro…its Caitlin." Andrew pulled the phone slightly away from Kate's ear to hear the conversation.

When Gibbs didn't immediately reply, Kate continued speaking. "I'm not feeling well this morning. I must have eaten bad oysters last night for dinner. I started to feel sick after my boyfriend Tony dropped me home."

Andrew leaned into Kate's opposite ear and whispered, "Finish it."

"_Okay. Will you be home all day in case I have any questions on those reports you did yesterday?"_

"I'm not sure. I'm on my way to the Doctor's office now and yes, all the information is on top of my desk if you need it.

Again Andrew leaned into Kate's other ear, breath hot, sending shivers that ran down Kate's back. "The complaint." Andrew reminded her.

"Jethro, I've decided to drop the complaint against Agent Sommers. I…I realize that I may have over-reacted. He doesn't deserve it."

Andrew harshly whispered, "End it now."

"I should be fine by tomorrow. Thank you, sir."

Andrew grabbed the phone away from Kate and threw it to the ground near the sofa.

**Same time - NCIS Bull Pen:**

Gibbs hung up the phone.

He sat there stunned. Kate called him 'Jethro' and called herself 'Caitlin'. She referred to Tony as her 'boyfriend'. He rushed over to Kate's desk and directly on top was a copy of the report filed against Andrew Sommers.

McGee and Tony glanced at each other with eyebrows raised in confusion.

"DiNozzo! When was the last time you saw Kate?" Gibbs asked Tony sharply.

"Just this morning. I went by her apartment to pick up my jacket. I left it there last night when I dropped her home."

"What's going on Boss?"

"Tony, Kate referred to you as her 'boyfriend'.

Tony looked over at McGee's open mouth shock. "Hey, I didn't know that Kate felt that strongly about me." Tony gave McGee an amused smirk. "But then again I do have that affect on women."

"DiNozzo!" Gibbs called warningly.

"Boss, I swear - all I did was drop her home after dinner."

"Kate said that she's feeling sick after eating bad oysters for dinner last night."

"But Boss, we all had dinner together and she had chicken."

"I know that McGee! I was there too!"

Tony and Gibbs stared at each other for a moment. It was like Ari all over again when Kate was kidnapped. "Bastard's got her."

"DiNozzo, McGee, head down to Abby's lab. Trace Kate's cell phone."

Tony and McGee rushed out of the bull pen and headed to the rear elevator.

Gibbs grabbed his cell phone and called Fornell. At Fornell's answer, Gibbs growled, "Sommers has Agent Todd".

"_What? Are you sure?"_

"Yes, I'm sure!"

"_Sommers is out on assignment. He called me a few minutes ago saying he was going to follow up on a lead for a case that he's working on." _

"Well, he lied. If he hurts Agent Todd, I'll kill him."

**A few minutes later – Abby's lab:**

McGee and Abby were at the computer while Tony stood near them. They were startled when Tony slammed his hand on the counter. "I was at her apartment this morning. I should have waited for her."

Before McGee and Abby could reply, Gibbs walked in and asked "Any luck?"

"Abby and McGee are still putting a trace on it, Boss."

"Well hurry up! We may not have enough time. DiNozzo, McGee –meet me upstairs. Get ready to roll once Abby tracks Kate down. I'll brief Director Morrow."

Abby rushed over to Gibbs. "Gibbs, I'm really worried about Kate."

"So am I Abs. We'll get to her." Gibbs said gently. He leaned in and pressed a kiss to Abby forehead.

Abby closed her eyes, reassured by Gibbs words and action that they will save Kate.

"Just find her Abby." Gibbs said as he exited the lab.

Abby turned to find McGee and Tony staring at her with wide eyes. "What?"

McGee's eyebrows were drawn together as he asked suspiciously, "Does he do that a lot?"

"What?" Abby's eyes widened innocently.

Tony wagged his eyebrows up and down, and clarified, "Kiss you."

**A few minutes later – Bullpen:**

"McGee, try her cell phone again. See if she'll answer."

"Still no answer, Tony. I'm just getting her voice mail."

"Keep trying until she either answers or Abby traces her location."

**Kate's apartment:**

Andrew was pacing the living room area holding a gun in his hand.

Kate was sitting on her sofa and eyed her cell phone as it rang again.

"Don't answer it."

"Andrew, if I don't answer my cell phone, they'll get suspicious. My boss is supposed to call if he has any questions on the case we are working on."

Andrew pointed the gun at Kate. "I said don't answer it!"

**A few minutes later Bullpen:**

Coming down the stairs from the Director's office, Gibbs cell phone rang. "Gibbs."

"_Gibbs! Got it! She's still at her apartment." _

"Good work Abby. McGee, DiNozzo - let's go. Kate's still at home." Gibbs reached into his drawer and pulled out his gun and holstered it. He grabbed some extra ammunition and started running to the elevator.

McGee and Tony scrambled to grab their own weapons and ran after Gibbs. They just barely made it into the elevator as the doors closed.

**Kate's apartment:**

Gun pointed in Kate's general area, Andrew sat on the coffee table in front of Kate, whom was still seated on the sofa.

"I really thought you were different Caitlin. Special. You seemed so perfect – so beautiful. You were so professional when we worked together. I thought we'd make the perfect couple."

"Andrew, don't do this."

**NCIS Company issued vehicle:**

"Fornell, I'm heading over to Agent Todd's apartment now. You can meet me there." After rattling off the address, Gibbs hung up and applied more pressure to the accelerator.

**Kate's apartment:**

"Me? You did this! You betrayed my belief in you!" Andrew back handed Kate, connecting his fist to her left cheek.

Andrew reached down and pulled Kate upright.

Finally have recovered from being stunned once again, Kate attempted to throw Andrew off balance. She lifted her right knee to strike at his groin but Andrew, who was also taught in self-defense, knew to keep full body pressure against Kate. Without the leverage and Andrew's height, it made it difficult for any type of attack. Struggling with arms and legs thrashing, they rolled off the sofa with Kate crashing into the coffee table. Andrew managed to get a punch in to Kate's left temple. This time Kate blacked out.

**Street in front of Kate's apartment – a few minutes later:**

The car came to a screeching halt in front of Kate's apartment building. Barely waiting for the car to stop rocking, Gibbs, Tony and McGee scrambled out of the car and ran into the building.

Gibbs and McGee with weapons drawn, positioned themselves on either side of the apartment door. Voice lowered, Gibbs said to Tony, "DiNozzo, you know what to do."

At Gibbs' signal, Tony took a deep breath and knocked. After a few moments when there was no answer, Tony pounded on the door and yelled, "Kate, it's me Tony. I think I forgot my wallet."

Kate opened the door a crack and said, "Tony, I'm not feeling well right now. Can you come by later?"

Tony flinched at the drawn look on Kate's face and the cut on her left cheek and right eyebrow. "Hey sweetheart. I really need my wallet. My cash and credit cards are in it."

Kate subtly indicated with her eyes that Sommers was behind the door.

Tony gave a quick nod to Kate that he understood. "I'll be quick. Just let me get it. It may be on the kitchen counter."

As the door opened a few more inches to allow Tony to enter, a gun was pointed directly at Tony over Kate's shoulder, waving him in.

**Hallway – Kate's apartment:**

Gibbs looked down the hallway as the door shut to see Fornell and a couple of FBI agents rushing towards them. Gibbs waved at them to be quiet.

"Fornell, Sommers has Todd and DiNozzo in there."

"What can we do?"

"We wait for a signal from DiNozzo. I don't want to barge in there not knowing the situation."

**INTERVIEW – FBI BUILDING**

With a hand that shook slightly, Kate reached up and pressed a couple of fingers to her forehead. "I was both relieved and worried when Tony knocked on the door."

"Why relieved?" The interviewer asked.

"I knew Gibbs and McGee were also out in the hallway. Tony had called me 'sweetheart'. He wouldn't dare call me anything but 'Kate' to my face."

"And why worried?"

"Because Tony being Tony was willing to enter the apartment not exactly knowing what to expect. Sort of his usual gung-ho attitude and willing to try anything. It's part of his charm." Kate said with slight sarcasm and a quick look to the one-way mirror.

In the Observation Room, Tony gave a small smile before frowning again knowing that what happened next would, if not had already established the bond between them, surely strengthened it.

McGee stared at Kate, going over the bruises and cuts on her body that was visible. Listening to what Kate had gone through at the hands of Sommers, he had cringed every time Sommers had inflicted an abuse on her. McGee had always known that Kate was a strong, independent woman; however, his admiration for her increased knowing what she had endured and survived these past couple of days.

Gibbs stood there, arms down with fists opening and closing. He felt caged in, angry – at Sommers, Fornell, the interviewer, at the recent events. As Ducky had mentioned, physically Kate would recover but it was her frame of mind he worried about. Gibbs hated to admit it but he was also concerned about the scene he had witnessed in the kitchen between Kate and Tony.

TBC Final Chapter

Thanks for reading and for all the previous reviews / emails.


	7. Chapter 7

**Dear Readers: Thanks for your patience. I've been away. Sorry for having rushed this final chapter but I wanted to finish this up. I've made it up by having this chapter a bit longer than the previous six. Enjoy!**

**FLASH BACK**

**Inside Kate's apartment:**

Standing in the living room area, Andrew Sommers pointed his gun at Tony. "Keep your hands up."

"What's going on Kate?" Although Tony questioned Kate, he kept his eyes on Andrew.

Kate narrowed her eyes warning at Tony to remain quiet. She turned her attention back to Andrew. "Andrew, please don't do this."

"So, this is the new man. Were you seeing him at the same time you and I were involved?" Andrew asked Kate snidely.

"Andrew, you and I were never involved. We worked together briefly and we dated a couple of times. It was never more than that."

Andrew looked pleadingly at Kate. "We could have been more. I've always been the perfect agent. Doing right. But my life wasn't complete until I met you. Working with you – I realized that you too were the perfect agent. I thought we compliment each other."

Tony cleared his throat to draw Andrew and Kate's attention. Hands still up in the air and still playing at being clueless, he asked, "So, anyone want to tell me what's going on?"

**Kate's apartment - hallway:**

Gibbs, McGee, Fornell and a couple of FBI agents, with guns drawn, had positioned themselves along the wall near the door.

Gibbs and Fornell strained their ears towards the door. Every now and then being able to make out words from the mumbled voices coming through the door.

Having decided that enough was enough, Gibbs demandingly whispered to Fornell, "You need to get your man under control."

Fornell nodded his head and called out, "Sommers, it's Agent Fornell."

**Inside Kate's apartment:**

Andrew jerked his head towards the door. "What the hell is Fornell doing here?" He turned back to Tony and demanded, "Who the hell are you?"

Tony lowered his hands, raised an eyebrow and cockily said, "I'm an NCIS agent."

Kate moved to stand a couple of feet in front of Tony, blocking Andrew's line of vision. "Andrew, please don't do this. This has got to stop."

"Kate, get out of the way." Tony murmured.

Ignoring Tony, Kate took a couple of slow steps towards Andrew. "Andrew, I'm sorry. We can work this out. Just put the gun down. You and I will work this out."

Andrew, eyes filled with tears, said, "I just wanted to be with you Caitlin. We could have been perfect together."

Tony reached out a hand to move Kate away from Andrew's gun sight. "Kate, step away."

"Don't touch her! Don't you touch her!" Andrew yelled as he aimed the gun at Tony's face.

Tony moved over a couple of steps to draw Andrew's aim away from Kate. As Andrew's gun followed Tony, Kate once again stepped in Andrew's line of vision.

"Damn it, Kate." Tony whispered angrily.

"Andrew, he didn't do anything. Don't hurt him, please." Kate softly pleaded. "Tony and I are just friends. He doesn't need to be hurt by this."

"You hurt me Caitlin. You ruined my career."

Kate reached out a hand towards Andrew, "I know and I'm sorry. Let Tony go, and you and I will work this out."

"You're lying. I'm ruined now." Andrew said as he clocked his gun.

Simultaneously, the apartment door was kicked in as Gibbs and Fornell led McGee and the two FBI agents in, guns pointed in every direction. Kate hand was reaching out to Andrew, while Tony rushed forward to grab Kate.

Andrew lifted his gun to head temple and pulled the trigger.

**Kate's apartment – living room / kitchen:**

Gibbs stood in the living room with the local police and FBI agents going over the details of the past hour. With Fornell and his two FBI agents having witnessed Sommers self-inflicted gunshot, it didn't require Gibbs to add in too much info.

Exasperated, Gibbs shook his head as heard raised voices coming from the kitchen. He approached to investigate the reason why another argument was brewing between Kate and Tony. Gibbs hesitated as at the entryway as he watched the scene before him.

Kate sat at her kitchen table while Tony paced - every now and then glancing at her with a frustrated look on his face.

"Tony, I'm dizzy enough as it is without having to watch you walk around in circles."

"Damn it, Kate! Why would you stand between us? He could have shot you!"

"What did you want me to do, DiNozzo? I thought he was going to shoot you!" Kate yelled back.

Tony must have realized that now was not the time to agitate Kate. Tony sat down on a chair adjacent to Kate. "I'm sorry. I'm…It's just the adrenaline rush." Tony tentatively reached out a hand, laid his fingers on top of Kate's and murmured, "I was just scared."

"Yeah, me too." Kate looked down at their joined hands. "I'm glad you were here Tony. It means a lot to me to know that you came in for me."

"Yeah well, you're… important to me Kate. I wouldn't - couldn't – just not do anything."

"Tony, I wouldn't be able to live with myself knowing that you would have gotten hurt because of me."

Still unnoticed by Kate and Tony, Gibbs' eyes slightly narrowed as he stared at their entwined fingers.

For a moment neither said anything. Tony looked over Kate's battered face and winced sympathetically. "Are you okay Kate?"

"I don't know." Kate murmured softly.

Tony slowly leaned forward and pressed the barest whisper of kiss on Kate's forehead. He leaned back slightly and let his concerned eyes roam Kate's face.

Gibbs noticed that Kate barely even acknowledge the tenderness of Tony's action – her attention seemingly focused on their joint hands.

"Kate…" Tony had started but stopped when Kate looked up suddenly and locked eyes with Gibbs.

After a few moments of intense quiet, Gibbs said, "DiNozzo, FBI has some more questions for you."

Looking back and forth between Kate and Gibbs, Tony gave Kate's hand a gentle squeeze before releasing her fingers. "Sure Boss." Tony stood and as he headed out to the living room he paused beside Gibbs. "She's been through a lot Boss."

When Gibbs didn't reply to his comment, Tony glanced back at Kate still locked in eye contact with Gibbs.

As Tony walked out, Gibbs took a few steps in. "Kate, medics are saying you're refusing treatment."

"I'm fine Gibbs." Kate said as she broke eye contact and stared at the top of the table.

"You don't look fine. I would rather you have them check you out. After we're done here, we'll have Ducky look you over."

Kate inhaled a shaky breath and looked up at Gibbs, confusion on her face. "I really thought he was going to shoot us. I had no idea that he would….shoot himself."

Knowing that now was not the time to show any kind of sympathy, he said resolutely, "Like he said, his career was ruined. There wasn't any place for him to go from here." Not giving Kate an opportunity to refuse, Gibbs held out his right hand to help Kate up from the chair and grimaced at the effort it took Kate's abused body to stand. "I'll have McGee take you down to the ambulance."

Before Gibbs could release Kate's hand, she gripped his hand tightly, holding him in place. Kate's eyes filled with tears as she stared intently into Gibbs' eyes. "Gibbs…when Andrew shot himself, I keep thinking 'Thank God'."

Gibbs gently squeezed Kate's fingers, closed his eyes briefly and murmured, "So did I." When it looked as though Kate would let her tears fall, Gibbs narrowed his eyes warningly at Kate. "Don't let it get to you Kate. He did this to himself. You were the victim here not him."

Though Kate nodded, Gibbs knew enough about Kate to know she was not necessarily agreeing with him.

Gibbs lightly placed a hand at her back and still holding her right, led Kate to the apartment door, using his body to block the sight of Sommers' body lying on the living room floor.

"McGee, take Kate to the ambulance. Have the medics look her over. DiNozzo and I will meet you downstairs soon."

McGee reached out to Kate, not knowing where to place his hands on her where it wouldn't hurt. Kate solved McGee's dilemma by placing her hand on his forearm to assist her.

As McGee escorted Kate out of the apartment, Agent Fornell asked Gibbs, "Will she be okay?"

"What do you think Fornell? Agent Todd was beaten and there's a body lying on her living room floor. You tell me!"

"Jethro…" Fornell murmured to calm down his sometime friend/most time adversary.

Gibbs shook his head and said, "Once the FBI and LEOs are done here, call us so we can have a cleaning crew come in. I don't want Agent Todd to come back unless the blood's been removed."

Fifteen minutes had passed when Tony's cell phone rang. "Yeah McGee? What!" Tony look over to Gibbs. "Who took Kate?"

Gibbs narrowed his eyes threateningly.

"And you let them? Never mind. We'll be right down." Tony turned to Gibbs. "Boss! FBI's I.A. took Kate in for questioning." Tony advised Gibbs while staring accusingly at Fornell.

"Fornell, you come with us. We're going after Kate."

Gibbs, Tony and Fornell rushed downstairs to find McGee waiting in the back seat with the car already running.

**FBI Building:**

Gibbs, Tony and McGee followed closely behind Fornell as they entered the FBI's version of a Bull Pen.

Several FBI agents stood at sight of Fornell rushing in followed by three men wearing the standard NCIS jackets.

"Where is she, Fornell?" Gibbs demanded.

"I'll find out where they placed her. Wait here." Fornell rushed down the hallway.

"The hell we will." Gibbs said as he started to follow Fornell.

An FBI agent moved to block Gibbs from following Fornell. "I believe Agent Fornell advised that you are to wait here."

"You plan on stopping me?" Gibbs asked the FBI agent quietly.

Another FBI agent moved in front of Gibbs and demanded angrily, "What happened to Sommers?"

Another agent said, "We heard that there was a shooting involving an NCIS agent."

"Well you heard correctly, boys." Tony confirmed. He eyed the group of angry FBI agents that had started to surround them.

Tony and McGee simultaneously turned so that they had their backs to Gibbs.

"I suggest that you find out the full story before you do or say anything that you'll regret," Gibbs advised, eyes narrowed.

"Why don't you fill us in?" Another FBI agent asked demandingly.

"Back off, boys. Now is not the time to show some balls." Tony said, making brief eye contacts with the agents facing him and McGee.

"Tony, I'm not liking this." McGee murmured softly.

"Agent Sommers was my partner. I want to know what happened." The FBI agent that had first spoken to Gibbs, poked a couple of fingers into Gibbs' chest.

"Don't try that again." Gibbs warned.

"Or what, there'll be another shooting."

"If that's what you want."

Uncaring and angered because his partner was dead and because of Gibbs' goading, the FBI agent reached out to grab Gibbs jacket. As Gibbs knocked the FBI agent's hands away, the FBI agent reached for his gun.

Gibbs considered this a threat and drew his weapon causing the remaining seven FBI agents along with Tony and McGee to draw their guns.

Yells of "Put your gun down!" and "Stand down!" filled the air as Fornell rushed back into the Bull Pen. Tony and McGee were waving their weapons back and forth between FBI agents. Gibbs had his gun pointed steadily at Sommers' partner.

"What the hell is going on?" Fornell demanded.

"Fornell, tell your men to drop their weapons!"

"Stand down. Put your guns away. Damn it! Do as I say!"

"We heard that Sommers' was involved in a shooting with an NCIS agent. Is it true?" Gun aimed directly at Gibbs' head, Sommers' partner asked Fornell.

"Yes, it's true. But the NCIS agent didn't shoot Sommers. He shot himself!"

"I don't believe it. Sommers was a good agent. He wouldn't do that."

"Well, believe it. I was there. I saw him pull the trigger. Now drop your weapons – all of you." Fornell instructed his people tiredly.

Gibbs, Tony and McGee waited until all eight FBI agents holstered their guns before lowering theirs. Gibbs looked over at Fornell and demanded, "Take us to my agent, Fornell. Now!"

"They've already started the debriefing Agent Todd, Gibbs. You can watch from the Observation Room."

**Early Thursday Evening - Conclusion**

In the Observation Room, McGee was slumped against the wall – his eyes half closed with exhaustion pulling at his body.

Tony, impatient from not only having to relive the past couple of days, was packing back and forth - wired from being enclosed in the same room for hours and also knowing that the interview was coming to a close soon.

Gibbs patiently stood at the one-way mirror focused on every word and action in the opposite room.

"Agent Todd, I have a several questions for you. There are a few statements you've made that need clarification."

Kate moaned, McGee moaned, and Tony moaned. "Geez! Hasn't he heard it twice – what more does he need to know!" Tony asked out loud.

Gibbs, without turning his head, said, "Fornell, I think we're done here."

"Yes!" Tony cheered as he lifted his fist into the air. McGee chuckled lightly at Tony's enthusiasm.

Kate looked up at the interviewer with a raised eyebrow. "I've already told you everything twice. I don't see what other questions you may have."

"Fornell."

"Not yet Gibbs until the interviewer is done, then she can leave." Fornell advised Gibbs warningly.

"Agent Todd, why-?"

Having had enough - emotionally and physically exhausted - Kate held up a hand to stop the interviewer from continuing. She lifted her head, and seeming to have looked right through the one-way mirror, locked eyes with Gibbs. "I'm done, Gibbs. Get me out of here."

Not once breaking eye contact with Kate, Gibbs barked out, "McGee, DiNozzo – get Kate. We're leaving."

As McGee pushed away from the wall, Tony pounded McGee on the shoulder and with a happy smile headed towards the door. The two stone-faced FBI agents remained blocking the exit. Standing face to face with them, Tony raised an eyebrow and commented, "Nice coats. Is there a discount clothing store that sells standard issued suits to the FBI?"

Anxious to leave and worried that another show down will occur but still slightly angry enough to give off a brave front, McGee lifted a challenging eyebrow at the agent directly in front of him.

"Fornell, you want to have Tweedle Dick and Tweedle Dumb move out of the way?" Tony asked.

"What is it with you NCIS agents? They have training classes on giving out smart remarks?" Fornell asked disgustedly.

"Actually it just comes naturally," replied McGee.

"Fornell," growled Gibbs attention still on Kate.

Fornell looked over at the agent and tilted his head for them to let McGee and Tony pass.

"Thanks boys," Tony said to the FBI agents with a smirk.

A few moments later, the Debriefing Room door opened from the outside. Tony walked in first and said perkily to the interviewer, "Sorry to break this up but the party's over."

"What? What's going on? I'm not done here." The interviewer sputtered.

Only upon hearing the door opening does Kate look away from the one-way mirror. Kate looked up tiredly to Tony and McGee. Both winced at the bruises surrounding the cuts on Kate face and at the dark circles that had formed under her eyes.

Tony placed a hand under Kate's elbow to help her stand up as McGee pulled out the chair from under her. Tony leaned into Kate and murmured quietly, "Come on Kate. I think we've overstayed our welcome."

Kate closed her eyes briefly and nodded. "Take me home Tony. I'm so tired."

When the interviewer made to rise from his chair, Tony and McGee narrowed their eyes at him. McGee said warningly, "I suggest you remain seated if you want to keep your throat intact. My Boss is still pissed at you."

Tony gently placed a hand at Kate's back and guided her to the door.

Gibbs turned away from the mirror and advised Fornell as he walked out of the Observation Room and into the hallway. "You have any further questions Fornell, have your Director contact my Director."

Fornell shook his head at the two FBI agents to stay back as he followed Gibbs out to into the hallway.

Having entered the hallway at the same time from the separate rooms, Kate looked over and watched as Gibbs approached. Gibbs slowly reached out and placed his fingers against Kate's cheek, gave her a small reassuring nod and said, "Let's go." As they all turned and walked towards the elevator, Kate leaned exhaustedly into Gibbs side as Gibbs puts his arm around Kate's back. McGee and Tony closely followed protectively behind them.

Fornell remained standing in the hallway watching the NCIS agents leave, thankful that it was only Sommers that died today.

One the agents, the one that Special Agent DiNozzo dubbed Tweedle Dumb, asked, "Agent Fornell, are we just letting them leave?"

"Yes, I wouldn't want to stop them. Those agents are still pissed off enough to want more FBI blood spilled today," Fornell replied, rubbing his eyes tiredly.

**The End.**

**Message: Again, thanks for the reviews and e-mails.**


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